Colorectal cancer screening is highly effective in reducing mortality. Only sixty percent of adults, however, are up to date with tests recommended by current guidelines. Researchers and clinicians are therefore eager to find ways to improve screening rates. One method, known as a fecal occult blood test (FOBT) finds blood in the stool by placing a small sample of stool on a chemically treated card, pad or cloth wipe. A special chemical solution is then put on top of the sample.
If the card, pad or cloth, turns blue, there is blood in the stool sample. A FOBT may be done to check for some intestinal conditions or colorectal cancer. Blood in the stool may be the only symptom of colorectal cancer, but not all blood in the stool is caused by cancer. Other conditions that can cause blood in the stool include hemorrhoids, anal fissures, peptic ulcers, ulcerative colitis, certain gastroesophageal reflux diseases or use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin or the like.
Before the invention of applicant's home test kit, the following shortcomings of FOBTs prevented many of the previously mentioned conditions from being discovered: messiness of testing; clinicians' or other employee's failure to perform fecal occult blood testing—handling feces in any manner is not desirable to do; embarrassment; the escalation of the cost for tests; the length of time and inconvenience to conduct the test—present test procedures include sending the stool sample (in some cases via U.S. mail) to a location other than where it was placed on the card; and safe, clean environmentally conscious means for disposing of the test sample and components after completing the test were not available.
Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a new test kit for detecting fecal blood that could be performed in the privacy of one's home. It would be desirable that such a kit be compact, easy to use, and biodegradable. It would also be novel if such a kit would address the aforementioned shortcomings of prior fecal occult blood tests.